Lifestyle Strategies 15 February 2011

CAROL - AVOID THIS TRAGEDY

I was looking at the archive of this newsletter and this piece caught my eye – because nothing has changed:

“The Australian Financial Review” 14 Feb 08 reported on two survey results:

One survey of 1000 respondents - by the Senior Australian Equity Release Association of Lenders - found that one third of baby boomers expect their money to run out between 5 and 10 years into retirement.

One third (perhaps the same one third) thought it most likely that they will need to sell their family home, and downsize, for the purpose of funding daily living expenses.

Another survey by Retail Finance Intelligence found that one in five current retirees (that’s 20%!) are still repaying their mortgages, and of those approaching retirement, one third expect to still have a mortgage when they do retire.

Comment: A logical outcome of those retirees with mortgages is that they will need to tap into their superannuation to repay the mortgage, or sell in an attempt to downsize.

If you feel that you won’t have enough for 20-25 years of a dignified retirement, phone me – Bernard Kelly - immediately 0414 778 518


SUPERANNUATION ALARM IN SINGAPORE


20 years ago Singapore was concerned that its 40% retirement contribution fund was inadequate! No wonder there is concern in Australia that our 9% superannuation contribution levy is simply not enough. Read on:


The national savings and superannuation scheme in Singapore is in crisis.

Established in 1955 as a compulsory saving scheme, into which both employees and employers tip in 20% each, there is concern that members will not have enough for a decent retirement.

Along the way, the scheme has changed into a social security blanket, and members may now withdraw to purchase their family home, to pay for their family’s education, and also for health and medical bills.

The unexpected problem is that Singaporeans are now living much longer that was anticipated way back in 1955.

Singapore acknowledged this problem some time ago, and changes were made in 1987 – that’s 20 years ago - to ensure that members were saving enough for a modest retirement lifestyle.


If you feel that you won’t have enough, phone me TODAY. My mobile is 0414 778 518


MORE “RENAISSANCE CAREER” JOBS

With 3,500,000 Australian baby boomers marching into retirement, there will be massive opportunities for active boomers to move into “renaissance careers” i.e. those jobs that they really want to do.

Australia has always relied on immigration to eliminate its lack of manpower and skills.

Immigration is currently 50,000 per year, but according to a study by the Academy of Social Scientists, the intake needs to be increased to between 170,000 and 200,000 pa.

Adding to the problem is that the national fertility rate is in long term decline. Over the past twenty years, the rate of live births has dropped from 2 children per woman to 1.2.

The solution would eventually be to triple the level of immigration to fill the needs created by the retirements of 3.5 million baby boomers as well as on-going economic development.

There is increasing demand for labour across the whole economy, including the military, services, education, health and industry.

The hardest policy objectives will be to fill low skilled jobs, however this issue will make it easier for boomers to find productive work.

(Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) News, 05/02/2008: "Immigration boost needed to tackle skills shortage: report many job vacancies will be created when millions of baby boomers retire . Labour shortage looms")

PLAN AN EXCITING RETIREMENT

Your retirement will be different from your parents’, mainly because you will be more active, and you’ll be living longer.

When they thought about retirement, it was possibly based around the notion of “relaxation”.

Today it’s more common to think about “freedom” and “opportunity”.

And given that government welfare is subject to political whims, it would be prudent to keep a weather eye out in your planning in case you need to shelter from any buffeting on that front.

Here are some thoughts to plan an exciting retirement:

1. Continue in your profession, albeit at a slower pace.

One solicitor I know has kept his hand in by moving his focus to non-profit law. So he has kept his office, his prestige and his income, while removing himself from stressful client

2 Go back to school

Many boomers plan to go back to school when they finish a full-time career.

Horticulture is a popular choice because it has wide application and possibly also because it is so diverse, but getting a qualification to be a tour guide or a school teacher are also popular choices.

3 Learn a new trade

For those not academically inclined, learn a new trade.

Popular courses are fork-lift truck driving and woodworking. Retirement can be an opportunity to start over in a new field.

4. Start a profitable hobby

Most of us will need additional income in our later years, to supplement government welfare and our super.

What easier way to take whatever hobby we have, and turn it into a “profitable hobby”.
In addition to extra cash flow, such focused activity will provide you with friendships and major

psychological health benefits.

5 Travel

Travel is an old stand-by as a retirement activity, and so if this is of interest, why not go for it.
Just be aware – travelling can cost you almost a regular income.

6. Volunteer work

Many retirees drift into volunteer work – and end up doing menial, unsatisfactory, un-paid work.
If you want to have an exciting time doing volunteer work in retirement, plan ahead and find a position that will allow you some decision making.

7. Surprise your family

In this catch-all category, I would put all those “outrageous” activities that will shock your family.

However, it you don’t like gardening or playing golf, a possible alternative is to join a local theatre group.

Your family may be surprised, but who cares?


QUIZ – ARE YOU READY TO RETIRE?


I noticed in the newsletter from aboutseniors.com.au this though-provoking quiz. Just copy and paste this address

http://www.aboutseniors.com.au/index.php/articles/category/enough_to_retire_on#are_you_ready_to_retire_quiz


AGED CARE WILL CHANGE

The Australian Productivity Commission has recommended changes to the funding of aged care.

At present, residents in low care hostels pay for these services by so-called “accommodation bonds” often funded by the sale of the family home.

Concern has been expressed that private sector operators are driven more by the profit motive, rather than compassion for the elderly.

In contrast, high care residents in aged care homes are principally funded by the government, under a system of “bed licences” with some minor top up by residents.

Of course, the concept of bed licences is simply a mechanism by which government limits the amount of funding it provides, and this - associated with bureaucratic restrictions - make it unattractive for operators to build more facilities.

And this is at a time when demand for all types of aged care services is increasing.

The system is creaking at the seams, and will change in due course – but only when politicians can be comfortable that they won’t be penalised at the ballot box.


PROFITABLE HOBBY - SEWING


Julia Miller has always liked sewing and when she needed to boost her family income, she took this hobby and made it profitable.

Living with a family in Bowral, a small town of 7,000 ninety minutes out of Sydney, Australia, she didn’t have many options other than to do something for herself.

So after some false starts, she created Bowral Boxers, with a simple product line of men’s and boys’ boxer shorts.

STARTUP COSTS

As Julia already had a hobby, she had all the equipment she needed to create a profitable hobby.

Her only real expense was to buy in raw materials for the boxers she intended to make. Initially this would have been perhaps $250.

However she needed to spend some money to create an elegant – but portable – stall. If you go this route, allow say $100 for two fold-away (second hand) tables. You would cover these with a white sheet which not only brings elegance to your stall but also provides an excellent contrast to your products.

OPERATIONS

With a simple product, it is easy for a home based sewer to produce a quantity of the same product.

Julia was easily able to “mass produce” underpants, shorts or pyjamas.

With slight adaptations, she was also able to product a range of women’s and girls’ boxers and sleepwear.

All she really needed is a supply of fabric with different designs.


MARKETING

To make this hobby into a “profitable hobby” Julia knew that she had to have an upmarket product, which would be capable of an upmarket price - $25 for a pair of boxers.

However when people attend a weekend market, they are generally willing to spend on a whim, for something that takes their fancy. These are her target market.

Julia started selling at the Southern Highlands weekend craft market – Bowral is the hub of the district, which has long been a summer retreat for Sydney residents – but realised that one market once per month didn’t really generate meaningful sales.

But having the experience of one stall, she knew that that it was a fairly simple exercise to exhibit at a series of markets.

Julia sells an upmarket product, and quickly gravitated to those markets that attracted upmarket visitors. These typically are in affluent suburbs in Sydney.

The downside of this hobby business is that she has to travel most weekends to the market for that weekend. This means rising at 4.00 am on Saturday, and arriving back home at dusk.

When purchased at the stall, the boxers are hand wrapped in gift wrapping paper. This eliminates the need for the style of packaging that you see in
department stores.

RANGE EXPANDS

Over time, the product line has expanded to pyjama pants, beach wear, nightshirts and kimonos.

However, by keeping to simple designs, Julia has been able to continue with a simple form of mass production.

ON-LINE STORE

Julia finds that she still must attend a range of weekend markets, but she has now added an on-line store.

Visitors to this site are mainly existing customers, as the product is something that is bought on a whim, rather than sold to a price conscious shopper.

You can find Bowral Boxers online at http://www.bowralboxers.com.au


FUTURE POTENTIAL

Once you have found that your hobby can become a profitable hobby, you will find that doors will keep opening.


PROFITABLE HOBBIES

You can now buy my manual “37 case studies of Profitable Hobbies for immediate application” at
http://www.retirelaughing.com.au/blog/make-money-with-my-hobby/

At $19.75, it’s excellent value if you think you’ll be needing an additional source of income at some stage.

HERE’S MY BLOG

My blog is at www.retirelaughing.com/blog
I use this for current news – as part of my social network tools

FOLLOW ME ON FACEBOOK

Go to www.facebook.com/propertysuccess

I’M ALSO ON YOUTUBE

www.youtube.com/retirelaughing



Regards


Bernard Kelly www.retirelaughing.com mobile 0414 778 518 cell phone 61 414 778 518


About Bernard Kelly:

Bernard Kelly BEcon MBA CRPC Australia’s Retirement Strategist®, is a highly sought-after advisor, retirement authority, thought-leader, author and radio commentator because he makes the complicated and mundane topics of investing and retirement fun! Bernard has over 20 years’ experience providing families with financial thought. He is the author of Live Your Dreams in Retirement, Property Investing for Couples, Goolwa by Breakfast and Raising Decent Kids into Substantial Wealth and publishes a fortnightly newsletter that reaches thousands of subscribers worldwide.

19 Prospect Street, Box Hill 3128 Australia. Tel 61-3-9899 8577 mobile 0414 778 518


“expect to reap an extra $449,999* when you’ll really be needing it”.


PPS As I don’t spend my advertising budget on traditional media, I’m able to pay you $1000 for successful referrals

Property Strategies 1 February 2011

Housing has doubled every 7-10 years in capital cities

since records began

in the 1850s. And - despite what

the daily journalists are saying - I can't see any reason

why this should change.

.

QUOTE FOR TODAY

"It had long since come to my attention that people of accomplishment rarely sat back and let things happen to them. They went out and happened to things."

-- Leonardo da Vinci

BRISBANE RENTS HAVE SOARED

The Queensland Government is subsidising rents for families who have lost their homes in the recent floods.

Consequently rents in Brisbane have increased perhaps $50-60 per week in the past fortnight.

Brisbane rents have always been at a slight premium to other capital cities - perhaps $40 for a similar new four bedroom family home (with ensuite, air con, double garage, on its own title in a family suburb) but now the differential is really massive.

If you are an investor wanting to tuck something extra aside for 20-25 years of comfortable retirement, ACT IMMEDIATELY as when this becomes commonly known, there will be a rush for available house and land packages.

There are only so many subbies who work as independent contractors in the building industry.

If you wait until the rush is underway, your investment will take perhaps 12 months to complete,

rather than the 20 week build now available.

And of course, this additional rent will make your new investment so much more affordable.

If you have a job, often your out-of-pocket contributions can be less than $25,000 over say five years. And your financial benefit, on the basis that investments double every 7-10 years (assuming capital city values continues to increase as they have done since records began 160 years ago) will be around $450,000 when you'll really be needing it.

If you want me to help you explore your options, contact me - Bernard Kelly - TODAY!

Just hit the return button on this email or phone me 0414 778 518

I'm Bernard Kelly
Australia's Retirement Strategist®

OFFICIAL RESULTS FOR SUPER 2001-2010

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority has published the returns achieved by the superannuation industry for the ten years to 30 June 2010.

APRA says that retail funds (largely managed by the major banks and wealth companies) generated an average return of just 2.5% for participants

The non-for-profit (industry) funds managed to return 3.9%.

The benchmark inflation rate over this period is reported to have been 3.1%.

Given the compulsory nature of superannuation, these results are really distressing news for everyone (except the investment managers, of course).

If you want me to help you explore your options for your retirement planning, contact me – Bernard Kelly – anytime. My email is admin@retirelaughing.com


VALUE INVESTING

A report from Victoria’s Department of Human Services and the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI) Centre published last October attempts to place a value on an investment in residential real estate.

The report, Investment returns from rental housing in Melbourne, 1998–2009 uses an Internal Rate of Return (IRR) calculation, which measures the yield of properties based on the acquisition cost, rental income, capital growth, operating costs and disposal costs over the life of the investment.

As a starting point, the hypothetical investor in the model “holds one property, borrows 85 per cent of the purchase price, is taxed at the highest marginal tax rate and is exempt from land tax”.

The result, according to the report, shows the average IRR for houses over the years 1998-2009 is 18% pa and 15% for home units.

(As you know I’m biased in favour of residential real estate investments, so I won’t comment – BWK)


FIXED OR FLOATING – WHICH IS BETTER?

I rarely get asked for my views on the direction of interest rates – however private clients do ask me whether they should go fixed or floating.

There is really no rock solid answer – except to say that when the interest rate cycle is at one extreme or the other, you should take the view of a contrarian i.e. if rates are high, they will ultimately fall so logically you should go floating. But that’s very difficult to do, emotionally, when the journalists are warning us of Armageddon ahead.

Similarly if rates are falling, you should logically go fixed – on the premise that they will rise again eventually, past where they are at that moment.

Personally I don’t fix – for two reasons.

Firstly as rates rise and fall over time, the cost evens out over the years.

Secondly, if you fix, and you want to access the equity in an investment to enable you to expand your portfolio, you have to unwind the fixed rate loan – and pay penalty exit fees.

So as a generalisation, new investors should not fix - but once you have a portfolio established, you are less emotionally involved and so you can make better rational decisions at that time.


FINANCIAL QUESTIONS THAT REQUIRE ANSWERS

What are the financial questions to ask yourself when planning your retirement?

Money won’t guarantee you a comfortable retirement, but it will enable you to have more options.

So here are a few primers:

1. What will be your sources of income in retirement? These typically are superannuation, the government pension, personal investment and post-retirement employment and/or a profitable hobby.

2. How much will I need? While you may be carefully putting away funds for your retirement, the real challenge is to know what your retirement income needs may be, long before you even retire. Generally the aim has been to achieve up to 75% of your final income.

3. Will I need to work in retirement? Working after retirement age may be a financial necessity or (increasingly) it may simply be for self-enjoyment. If you want to work then why not! Particularly if you can transit into an encore career.

4. How long will I need to provide for in my retirement years? You may need to accumulate funds to provide for twenty or thirty years. That's a long time not working. If your family have longevity on their side consider that you too may live thirty or more years in retirement.

5. Where will I retire to? This is more about lifestyle but financially you need to provide for the answer. Will the place be warm to stave off any arthritic pains? Will you be nearer family?

6. Will I need to downsize my home? While this may appear to free up some capital remember that smaller housing may be more popular where you want to live and prices similar to your bigger home. There may not be all that much left in the pot to invest.

7. Do I want to travel when I retire? In the early stages of your retirement this might be a popular activity, after all you want to make the most of the time you still feel like travelling. There may come a time where ill-health will prevent this. You need to allow for your travel goals when planning your retirement.

Acknowledgments: Lyn Bell, soundfinance.com

SLIPPERY SLOPE TO POVERTY IN RETIREMENT

By Bruce Cameron writing in Personal Finance 17 January 2011

Most retirement fund members will not be able to maintain their standard of living once they retire.

A shocking 81 percent of retirement fund members will retire with a pension that will in no way be sufficient for them to sustain their pre-retirement lifestyle. In fact, most fund members face penury.

Currently, only about 12 percent of retirement fund members enter retirement reasonably financially secure.

These are the shock results of the latest research by retirement fund services provider Alexander Forbes. They mean that most people face:

* Slashing their standard of living at some point in retirement; and/or
* Staying employed, either in their current job or they face the difficult prospect of finding a post-retirement job.

The Alexander Forbes research is based on about 700 000 retirement fund members on its database.

The research excludes the millions of people who are not members of retirement funds and will have to rely on the government welfare to sustain them after the age of 60.

John Anderson, the head of institutional strategy at Alexander Forbes, says the sad part of the research is that it shows that most retirement fund members start off well when they begin working, but, as they get older, they increasingly fall off the secure retirement bus.

A major reason for the crisis is that fund members do not preserve their accumulated retirement savings when they change jobs.

Other reasons include low contribution rates, inappropriate investment portfolios, the inappropriate switching of investments, poorly performing investments, high costs, and the significant difference between actual total income and deemed pensionable salary. (Only part of your total income is used to calculate the contributions to your retirement fund. In most cases, things such as a travel allowance and an annual bonus are not taken into consideration.)

Anderson says the crisis is compounded at and into retirement.

For example, pensioners often withdraw large lump sums at retirement and use them for non-pension-funding purposes; pensioners often withdraw excessive amounts as a monthly pension in their initial years of retirement, resulting in a shortfall later; often, insufficient consideration is given to the effects of inflation in retirement; and in some cases insufficient allowance is made for a spouse’s pension.

All these factors contribute to a large portion of pensioners or their spouses not having a sustainable pension for life. In many cases, they only realise this many years into retirement, when the problem is very difficult to rectify.


PROFITABLE HOBBIES

You can now buy my manual “37 case studies of Profitable Hobbies for immediate application” at
http://www.retirelaughing.com.au/blog/make-money-with-my-hobby/
At $19.75, it’s excellent value if you think you’ll be needing an additional source of income at some stage.

HERE’S MY NEW BLOG

My new blog is at www.retirelaughing.com/blog
I intend to use it for current news – as part of my social network tools

FOLLOW ME ON FACEBOOK

Go to www.facebook.com/propertysuccess


Until next time

I’m Bernard Kelly

About Bernard Kelly:
Bernard Kelly BEcon MBA CRPC Australia’s Retirement Strategist®, is a highly sought-after property advisor, retirement authority, thought-leader, author and radio commentator because he makes the complicated and mundane topics of investing and retirement fun! Bernard has over 20 years’ experience providing families with financial thought. He is the author of Live Your Dreams in Retirement, Property Investing for Couples, Goolwa by Breakfast and Raising Decent Kids into Substantial Wealth and publishes a fortnightly newsletter that reaches thousands of subscribers worldwide.
19 Prospect Street, Box Hill 3128 Australia. Tel 61-3-9899 8577 mobile 0414 778 518


PS “expect to reap an extra $449,999* when you’ll really be needing it”.

PPS my marketing budget allows for $5,000 for each successful lead. I spend it on Google adwords, trade shows, workplace seminars – and for personal referrals from you. Phone me anytime with the names of family, friends and colleagues.

Retirement Strategies 15 January 2011

Retirement Planning involves your
health, financial security, family &
friends and your zest for living

which is why my very successful
investment strategy utilises off-
the-plan investment properties







TODAY’S INSPIRATIONAL QUOTE

"Do not wait; the time will never be 'just right.' Start where you stand, and work with whatever tools you may have at your command, and better tools will be found as you go along."

-- George Herbert



INVESTMENT STRATEGIES I DON’T RECOMMEND

Many of us, when addressing a future retirement, adopt these strategies - Worry and/or Hope.

However

• Worry is not preparation, and
• Hope is not a good strategy.


If you dream of 20-25 years of comfortable retirement, let me help you explore your options – realistically.

Contact me: Bernard Kelly anytime. My email is admin@retirelaughing.com

FOR YOUR FINANCIAL PLANNER

If you are into debating financial strategies with a financial planner, this book “Unveiling The Retirement Myth” by Jim C. Otar 2009 will provide you with arrows for your quiver.

Otar analyses the financial outcome for anyone starting retirement in any year since 1900 so this book is about the pension phase: it’s not about the accumulation phase.

To summarise – a successful financial retirement (if your super is invested in the stock market) is all about luck i.e. in which year you retire, and nothing else.

Capitalism means that many companies will fail to grow, and will limit their dividends, and the stock market is too volatile so that a pensioner relying on the stock market risk will always be exposed to considerable risk.

The only control that an investor has is the withdrawal rate, says Otar, and this itself will determine portfolio longevity.

His research shows that asset allocation and asset selection during the accumulation phase, as advised by the financial planning industry, are totally irrelevant.


DEVELOP AN ENCORE CAREER

This article was written by Lisa M. Balbes, Ph.D. of Balbes Consultants. Lisa is a scientific communication consultant and author of: “Nontraditional Careers for Chemists,” published by Oxford University Press (2007).

Here are Lisa’s Seven Practical Steps to Change Your Professional Image and create an encore career for yourself.

1. Identify and join the professional society that covers an emerging new discipline.

There are professional societies out there for every career, and in many cases more than one.

Joining one shows you are serious about the new field, and signing up for their mailing lists will provide lots of good information about the new area.

2. Earn a certification or take some classes.

This allows you to build your credibility, learn the vocabulary of your new field, make connections with other professionals, and delve in more deeply to find out which aspects of the field are most interesting and relevant to your future career path. It shows potential employers you are serious about moving into this new field.


3. Attend local chapter meetings of the professional society, or start a local chapter if one does not exist.

This is a great way to find out the most current information in the field, from those who are doing it on a regular basis, as well as what is going on in your local area. If no chapter exists in your area, what better reason to contact the local experts than that you are organizing a meeting on a topic of interest to them?


4. Make a conscious effort to expand your network.

Actively seek out people who are working in your new field. Invite them to coffee or lunch, or ask if you can call and talk to them for 15 minutes. Ask them how they got into the field, how they recommend someone with your background make the transition, and what they wish they had known when they got started.


5. Get some hands-on experience.


If you can’t find paying work in your new field, volunteer to take on a small project for one of your contacts in that field. Again, this will give you a real accomplishment to put on your resume, serving as proof of your expertise and interest in the new area.

6. Practice presenting yourself.

It is important to think of yourself not as “an organic chemist who can do some computations”, but as a computational chemist. You must see yourself in the new role, and present yourself that way to others. Remember that this is next stage in your career growth, and not a failure or abandonment of your former career.

7. Rethink your references.

In addition to re-writing your resume to emphasize your skills in the new field, you also need to identify people who can speak about your expertise and accomplishments in the new area. Now that you have transformed yourself, you need to make sure others see you that way too.

HOME MAKE-OVER

A survey conducted by AARP in the United States reveals that 33% of American boomers already begun work in their homes to make living easier for seniors to prepare for their old age.

The work most commonly made in this regard are the removal of steps at the entrance, installation of door handles more practical (in particular, replace door knobs difficult to turn a person with osteoarthritis by handles who drop or hinged doors).

Electrical outlets are placed above in order to be accessible to persons having difficulty bending or in wheelchairs.

The bathrooms are also the subject of development work: handles near toilets, bathtubs and showers, installation of bathtubs with a door for easy access, etc. ...

Some older, very farsighted, have even sell the dwelling in which they had spent their working lives to buy a smaller house and better equipped. It seems that older Americans are increasingly likely to be able to consider this type of sacrifice in order to calmly consider their entrance into old age.

(USA Today, "Boomers settle in to age in place", 21/12/2010)

WHY WE ARE ILL-PREPARED FOR RETIREMENT


It has occurred to me that while retirement is mainly a personal pursuit, and has nothing to do with a prior career (because the exchange of labour for wages has been terminated) most of us still feel that we have some on-going entitlement.

However ,retirement is contingent on having workable retirement plans in place years in advance.
The government pension and the health care card will only give a small measure of comfort to those of us who lack financial security.

Which is why I advocate additional streams of income – either investment properties and/or profitable hobbies.

I can help you explore your options for a profitable hobby, with my new manual “37 Case Studies of Profitable Hobbies” priced at $19.75.

You can buy it here

http://www.retirelaughing.com.au/blog/make-money-with-my-hobby/


RETIREMENT PLANNING ADVICE – FROM YOUR DOG

By Steve Vernon, Money for Life, CBS - MoneyWatch.com

Many readers may want to work in their retirement years to make ends meet and to stay engaged with life. If you’re considering this possibility, you might want to review this post on how maintain yourself in longevity.

Tip #1: Live within your means. Dogs are content with whatever living circumstances they have, and they don’t complain if they don’t have as much now compared to prior years. Dogs are good at balancing the magic formula for retirement security: I > E, or income greater than expenses.

Tip # 2: Phased retirement or downshifting is a more natural life transition. They continue to get as much activity as their aging bodies allow; they gradually decrease their activities and dog duties in their later years. Humans should consider phased retirement or downshifting as well, for a whole host of reasons including financial well-being and improved health and longevity.

Tip #3: Get daily exercise, preferably with a walk. Dogs appreciate a daily walk and thrive on getting out and stretching their legs. Rusty understands that regular exercise is critical to maintaining your health and to reducing the odds of the expensive, chronic diseases in your later years. And walking 30 to 45 minutes every day is one of the best forms of exercise.

Tip #4: Remain cheery and optimistic, don’t hold grudges, and be forgiving. These are common characteristics of dogs; if dogs were human, we’d say they have a “positive mental attitude” which, by the way, can improve your physical health and longevity. Studies of centenarians have shown that consistent personal characteristics are resiliency and resourcefulness.

Tip #5: Maintain good contacts with family and friends. Dogs are always happy to see you — they wag their tail and dance around a little to greet you. As a result, you’re more than happy to take care of their needs. In our later years, we may become increasingly reliant on family and friends to help with day-to-day household tasks and maybe even long-term care. So we’ll need to think about how we can wag our tails and dance a little — figuratively speaking — whenever we see our family and friends.

PROFITABLE HOBBY – COOKING

Do you have a love for cooking...and are people are always ranting and raving about your food?
You have all the qualities to create a personal chef business. Just market yourself to people who are sick and need to have their meals prepared for themselves and family.

Within a few days of startup, you are likely to have one or two clients.

You will find a cluster of potential clients in private hospitals near where you live.

A profile of a typical client that you will attract is a woman who has had surgery and needs meals prepared for her family. Her husband can probably only cook sausages and the kids want mum back in the kitchen yesterday!


You will be able to reach potential clients by leaving a brochure at the kiosk just inside the door of the hospital.

Test the market. She’ll know that the weekly shopping for her family is around $150, so your professional fees to prepare meals could well appear to be modest if you charge $150 plus groceries.

Make your minimum contract two weeks and when you get two or three clients simultaneously you will be able to be in production mode. Perhaps she will hire you to cook for her family everyday for three weeks.

You will be able to prepare the meals over the weekend at home then deliver the week's meals on Monday. Your local $2 shop has the inexpensive food containers you’ll need.
You’ll soon be making $2,000 per month!


PROFITABLE HOBBIES

You can now buy my manual “37 case studies of Profitable Hobbies for immediate application” at
http://www.retirelaughing.com.au/blog/make-money-with-my-hobby/



At $19.75, it’s excellent value if you think you’ll be needing an additional source of income at some stage.


HERE’S MY BLOG

My blog is at www.retirelaughing.com/blog

I use this for current news – as part of my social network tools


FOLLOW ME ON FACEBOOK

Go to www.facebook.com/propertysuccess



About Bernard Kelly:




Bernard Kelly BEcon MBA CRPC Australia’s Retirement Strategist®, is a highly sought-after property advisor, retirement authority, thought-leader, author and radio commentator because he makes the complicated and mundane topics of investing and retirement fun! Bernard has over 20 years’ experience providing families with financial thought. He is the author of Live Your Dreams in Retirement, Property Investing for Couples, Goolwa by Breakfast and Raising Decent Kids into Substantial Wealth and publishes a fortnightly newsletter that reaches thousands of subscribers worldwide.




19 Prospect Street, Box Hill 3128 Australia. Tel 61-3-9899 8577 mobile 0414 778 518


“expect to reap an extra $449,999* when you’ll really be needing it”.

Bernard Kelly - Australia's Retirement Strategist (right)

UK ABOLISHS COMPULSORY RETIREMENT AGE

The United Kingdom has announced that the compulsory retiring age of 65 will be phased out by October 2011.

Cynics might say that this is just an attempt by a bankrupt government to collect taxes from a new source, but others might say that this is just an adjustment to keep abreast with community attitudes.

But the question for Australians is – “how would such a declaration affect me?”


ELEMENTS FOR A SUCCESSFUL RETIREMENT

I thought this article was so significant that I would let you have it in full. It was written by Sydney Lagier and it appeared in the US News and World Report on 22 July 2010.

Some folks transition seamlessly into a happy retirement and get right to the business of enjoying their new lives. But other people have a tougher time entering the retirement years.

Some of these folks may wonder whether they are really cut out for retirement at all. Here are seven traits happy retirees share.

(1) Good health. Enjoying good health is the single most important factor impacting retiree happiness, according to a 2009 Watson Wyatt analysis. Retirees in poor health are nearly 50 percent less likely to report being happy, trumping all other factors including money and age.

(2) A significant other. The same study found that married or cohabiting couples are more likely than singles to be happy in retirement. The news gets even better for couples enjoying retirement together. Retirees whose partners are also retired report being happier than those with a working partner, according to research conducted earlier this year at the University of Greenwich.

(3) A social network. The Greenwich study also found that having friends was far more important to retirement bliss than having kids. Those who have strong social networks are 30 percent happier with their lives than those without a strong network of friends. Having kids or grandkids had no impact on a retiree's level of contentment.

(4) They are not addicted to television. After you retire you will have lots of time to fill. If you want to be happy in retirement, don't fill that time with endless hours of television. Heavy TV viewers report lower satisfaction with their lives, according to a 2005 study published by the Institute for Empirical Research in Economics in Zurich. The same results were found again in 2008 by researchers at the University of Maryland. In that study, a direct negative correlation was found between the amount of TV watching and happiness levels: unhappy people watched more TV and happy people watched less.

(5) Intellectual curiosity. Adults over 70 who choose brain-stimulating hobbies over TV watching are two and a half times less likely to suffer the effects of Alzheimer's disease, according to Richard Stim and Ralph Warner's book Retire Happy: What You Can Do Now to Guarantee a Great Retirement. Not only will shunning TV make you happier, it will make you healthier. Good health will in turn make you happier -- a not-so-vicious cycle.

(6) They aren't addicted to achievement. The more you are defined by your job, the harder it will be to adjust to life without it. According to Robert Delamontagne's book The Retiring Mind: How to Make the Psychological Transition to Retirement, achievement addicts have the most difficulty transitioning to retirement.

(7) Enough money. Of course you'll need enough money to support your chosen lifestyle in retirement. But beyond that, more money will not make you happier. The Watson Wyatt survey found that the absolute amount of money you have for retirement is less important than how your retirement income compares to your income before retirement. If you have enough to continue your pre-retirement lifestyle, you have enough.

If you don't have the traits necessary for a happy retirement, don't despair. There's good news for you, too.

Consider a retirement that includes a little work. Researchers at the University of Maryland found that retirees who go back to work either full or part-time are healthier. The benefits don't depend on how many hours you work.

Even temporary work has the same positive impact on health. If you can't find a paying job, don't worry. A growing body of research shows that retirees who volunteer reap the same benefits of health, happiness, and longevity. And since a happy retirement is a healthy retirement, you'll be set up to enjoy both.


PLAN NOW TO WORK LATER

The major US life insurance firm MetLife has published a free handbook “Buddy Can You Spare a Job”

The focus of the research project was on job seekers aged 55 to 70.

I personally found it quite enlightening.

It is available here – just click this link http://bit.ly/U2nRs


50% EXPECT FRUGAL RETIREMENT

A survey by ANZ Bank shows nearly 50 per cent of people aged between 45 and 64 do not think they have enough saved to maintain the kind of lifestyle they want in retirement.

ANZ's managing director of retail distribution Louis Hawke says people should not get discouraged about their retirement savings and should seek help to answer some key questions.

"How long are they going to live, what should they be spending money on, how should they be thinking about budgeting and if you look at our research, the ANZ research, even down to very basic things have you got the right bank accounts, have you got the right financial structure," he said.

However one-quarter of people surveyed are confident they have enough money to retire comfortably.

92 per cent of respondents want to travel around Australia in their retirement, with 83 per cent planning to spend more time on hobbies and sports, 76 per cent planning to do volunteer work, and 70 per cent planning overseas travel.

Source: ABC News Radio 12 July 2010

MIND GAMES


To keep my mind active, for some time now I have been doing the daily crossword and Sudoku on the website www.thesenior.com.au

Now I’m trying the devilish mind games on www.lumoisty.com


THE IMPORTANCE ON NEW CHALLANGES

Retirement – whatever that means today – is looming for all of us, and so it prudent to give some thought to plan how to have a happy and healthy, life until our “estate event” occurs.

It won’t be enough to plan for “spending more time with family” or “doing my favourite hobby”. This severely underestimates how much time you’ll have on your hands during those 20-25 years.

You'll definitely want to have more to do to keep you interested in life, mental stimulation, and healthy.

For some of us, taking classes is a great way to build new skills, form new friendships and give yourself a routine. You may not think that you’ll want a routine after years of formal work, but eventually having some routine will help keep you going and stop you from becoming bored.

Let me share with you something of what I’ve done personally to address these issues.

Firstly I don’t intend to opt out of the workforce, as – like everyone else - I can’t afford to – but also because I know I would be bored. And fortunately I enjoy what I do immensely.

Secondly two years ago I built 22 m2 of raised vegetable gardens, which has definitely given me an interest, and then last year we started planting fruit trees in the front lawn (there’s now 14 there).

Then when I did the Great Victorian Bike Ride last year, I had to buy some camping gear, which we used again over summer when we went to South Australia. This Christmas we’ll be camping again, this time in the Southern Tablelands at Bowral.

And then a few months ago I organised a street party – and we’re now “planning” for the next one.

I believe in new challenges to ensure a happy and healthy life until my “estate event” occurs.

PROFITABLE HOBBY – TOURIST MEMENTOS


Costa emailed me from Darwin seeking my help to generate a retirement income and I phoned him back.

While he didn’t have the capacity for the best solution (an investment property), he does have a hobby – landscape painting.

So we chatted about creating a “production line” of just one scene that could be sold and resold in a tourist prescient, and we ended up agreeing on multiple paintings of where tourist congregate with money to spend - the Fanny Bay Night Markets.

Now tourists have a particular mindset of nostalgia. In times past they would buy a tea towel or a tea spoon of where they were visiting. So why not take home a painting of the Fanny Bay Night Market?

Costa would be able to download an image of the Fanny Bay Night Market off the internet, and use that to produce perhaps five or six paintings in his garage. And he would get better and fastest the more he produced.

We agreed that he would then take them to the market to sell. He could probably get $60 for each one, framed.

But then he said politely “thank you for your thoughts” to which I responded sharply “Hey Costa – this more than just thoughts. This is a business plan and it’s your escape hatch from poverty”.

Let’s hope that shocked him into action.


I’ll PAY YOU $5,000 …

… for each successful referral that you generate.

Let me know if you want to know more – for example, when will you get paid? where is the deepest pool of prospects? and the address of the Facebook page where we’ll share our success.

Phone me – Bernard Kelly – anytime. My mobile is 0414 778 518 email admin@retirelaughing.com

I am Australia’s Retirement Strategiest®


LET’S MEET - PERTH

I’ll be at the Leisure & Lifestyle Expo in Perth (Claremont Showgrounds) 29-31 October.

I look forward to meeting you if you can make it.


PAY FOR A CONSULTATION

Some kind people want to pay me for this service.

Feel free to go to my membership site www.retirementstrategies.net.au and pay $110 for a full membership


About Bernard Kelly:

Bernard Kelly BEcon MBA CRPC Australia’s Retirement Strategist®, is a highly sought-after advisor, retirement authority, thought-leader, author and radio commentator because he makes the complicated and mundane topics of investing and retirement fun! Bernard has over 20 years experience providing families with financial thought. He is the author of Live Your Dreams in Retirement, Property Investing for Couples, Goolwa by Breakfast and Raising Decent Kids into Substantial Wealth and publishes a fortnightly newsletter that reaches thousands of subscribers worldwide.

19 Prospect Street, Box Hill 3128 Australia. Tel 61-3-9899 8577 mobile 0414 778 518